New direction for our Town Council

March 26, 2014

Congratulations to Anita Cereceda, Summer Stockton and Rexanne Hosafros. I am delighted with the result of the Town Council elections and look forward to very good things from the newly invigorated Town Council. Congratulations to all three and particular congratulations to Mayor Cereceda!

Amongst the many issues the new Town Council needs to deal with, I would like to mention just a few:

n AIRCRAFT NOISE: Despite the dedicated efforts of the AIR group (Air Intrusions Relief), Fort Myers Beach has lost out to other communities. Because of the comparative apathy of our local politicians so far, aircraft have been shifted from other communities, where Town Councils were more active, to Fort Myers Beach. I very much hope that our new Town Council will work hard to remove this disadvantage from us. I don't want anybody to take all the strain, but I think it must be shared out fairly.

n LAKE O WATER RELEASES: These releases of polluted water cause a lot of damage. This problem was made by man (straightening the river, building the dam around the lake) and it must be solved by man. We are stewards of the environment for the generations to come. We cannot sit back and wait; we must make sure that appropriate action is taken.

n TRAFFIC around SEAFARERS MALL: The Seafarers lot is now in public ownership and Estero Boulevard is due to be renewed. This presents us with the opportunity of a lifetime to really do something useful. We want to make trolleys so reliable and convenient that day visitors WANT to use them. We also want to reduce the suffering of visitors, who actually stay on the island and of the residents. It needs imaginative designers and engineers to work out detailed plans. Rexanne Hosafros had the idea to separate pedestrians from motor vehicles by creating an attractive raised plaza with fountains, benches, shops and restaurants. If a way can be found to get pedestrians from Times Square and the beach up there without crossing Estero Boulevard, that would be great!

Oh, and finally I want to express the hope that our new Town Council will find a way to settle the 'raised pool fiasco' before the lawyers involved become multi-millionaires. If a mistake was made by Town staff, then - I suppose - the Town is responsible and needs to pay some appropriate compensation. It would probably save money to do this sooner rather than later.